"The fact that someone came in and asked for a sign permit is a good sign, no pun intended," Stumbo says. "We look forward to this new company coming in, hopefully it will be very successful and will hire the people from Kmart to work there."

Kmart is nearing the end of an "everything must go" sale, with the expectation that the store will close sometime this month.

The Garden Ridge website says the company has more than 65 stores in over 20 states. The nearest stores are on Mercury Drive in Dearborn and on Utica Park Boulevard in Utica.